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"Now this is a fun one -- when you get to 100mph, just slowly take your hands off the wheel and watch what the car does ..." -- Aston Martin Instructor #1

You may remember how last month Cinematical was invited to travel to London for something called "The James Bond Experience." Part of this "experience" included a chat with Bond himself, Daniel Craig, and Quantum of Solace director Marc Forster. (You can read all about that over here.) Now, however, we're finally allowed to tell you about some of the activities that took place during our four days across the pond -- and how do I not start with the awesomeness that was driving an Aston Martin -- a car, mind you, that's worth more than my life -- at well over 100mph. But let me back up.

Never sit at the back of a bus for more than an hour and a half. By the time our small group of online writers arrived at the Millbrook test track, I felt like I was ready to puke. Millbrook is literally in the middle of the English countryside -- an hour or so out of London, in Bedfordshire, England -- and it's the sort of place that calls for an escort to be with you at all times. See, Millbrook is where they test all sorts of cars and military vehicles before they're called into action. Thus, cameras are everywhere, the public is not allowed in and security is tighter than a seat belt around Santa.

Brace yourselves for some horrific news from the set of Quantum of Solace, the new James Bond film due in theaters this fall. In a tragic accident early Saturday morning, the film's star plunged into Italy's Lake Garda and was destroyed. No, not Daniel Craig, silly. I mean the real star: the $250,000 Aston Martin DBS that 007 drives.

Yes, this is terrible news, even worse than the news that the movie would be called Quantum of Solace. As a stuntman was delivering the car to the northern Italy set in rainy weather, he lost control of the vehicle on a curve, went through a guard rail, and plummeted into the lake. (That's the recovered vehicle in the picture.) The stuntman, who wasn't named in any of the news reports I found, escaped with just some scratches and bruises; his job experience probably means he knows how to react in an auto-related crisis. It sounds like it would have been a spectacular sequence for a movie, if only there had been cameras rolling.

The reason this is such a big deal is that Aston Martins ain't exactly cheap, nor are they plentiful. It's not like it was a Honda Civic and the producers can just go grab another one off the lot. London's Sunday Mirror says the film had acquired five Aston Martins for the Lake Garda sequence. Two were already sprayed with bullet holes (on purpose), and it was the third one that went into the lake. The filmmakers presumably had other intentions for the remaining two cars; no word yet on whether they'll have to adjust their plans, or whether they'll be able to make do. Obtaining a replacement car on short notice doesn't appear to be an option.

Well, either it's just a coincidence or there is something to the rumor that the Bond franchise was looking for a new car for their super-spy. Market Watch reports that Ford Motor announced at a press conference today that they had sold the famed sports car unit Aston Martin to a group of investors. The consortium includes the racing mogul David Richards, and two unnamed Kuwaiti companies. It is believed that the sale was prompted by Ford to help with their struggling bottom line. Originally, the Aston Martin was part of a grouping of high-end European cars that Ford hoped would be a great source of revenue, in the end it cost them almost $2 billion -- so it looks like Ford is looking to pay off some debts (an article in The Financial Times had estimated that the sale could be worth as much as $868 million).

Rumors had surfaced about the switch not too long ago, and the sale of Aston Martin has given some credence to the rumors that Audi was expecting to step in. Although, Ford did keep 15% of the company, so I doubt they would be willing to give up that kind of exposure, especially if they are struggling financially -- they need all the free advertising they can get. So between the sale of Ian Fleming's "Birthplace of Bond" and the deal with Aston Martin, it certainly seems that all things Bond are profitable again.

Our wonderful friends over at Autoblog have a few movie-related posts this week. I love when Cinematical and Autoblog can share in the interconnection between cinephilia and autophilia, because really what good is a movie without a couple cool cars? Plus, give or take a decade, film and automobiles are roughly the same age, and so their histories are interesting to parallel.

• Frank Filipponio posted Thursday about Hot Rod magazine's list of "Top 40 Car Movies." He points out the mag's editors were biased towards films featuring hot rods, such as #1 on the list, American Graffiti. He also mentions some titles he thinks deserved to be mentioned, such as The Transporter and Cars. I like the list, because I'm not a huge car buff, but I do love all the late '70s/early '80s cars/truckers/dumb cop movies like Smokey and the Bandit and The Cannonball Run, and I'm always happy to see them recognized. The list also gives credit to movies with famous car chases, such as The French Connection, and also to at least one historical car movie, Tucker: The Man and His Dream. Also, the list includes a cool key to help you find which movie to watch if you like hot babes, lots of music or teen angst, or if you have a preference for Fords, Chevys or Pontiacs.
  
• Also on Thursday, Alex Nunez wrote up a piece on an Australian promotional tie-in for the home video release of Cars. Inside those Down Under DVDs is a mail-in coupon with which you could win a Holden HSV GTS that is painted to slightly resemble the main character from the Pixar film. For those of you thinking about importing the DVD or even entering online, be aware that the sweepstakes is only open to residents of Australia.
  
• Sunday, Alex reported on the subject of Bond cars and how Ford is very happy to be featured in Casino Royale, not just with the new Aston Martin (typically associated with Bond) but also with their new Ford Mondeo. There's also a little bit of "dissing" going on from the car manufacturer in the direction of Toyota/Lexus.
  

Casino Royale, the upcoming new James Bond film that introduces Daniel Craig as the new Bond will have 007 slipping behind the sleek and sophisticated wheel of ... a Ford? That's right folks, a Ford. He basically gets in this car and drives it to his hotel in the Bahamas, ostensibly from the airport. Talk about excitement. The rest of the movie will have him back in his beloved Aston Martin DB5 which returns for this film, but rest assured that Bond is the kind of guy who needs a car for every occasion. Apparently driving from your first class seat on a jet airliner to your swanky Bahamas hotel needs to be done in the luxury that only a Ford Mondeo can provide. I wonder how much Ford had to pony up to get this thing featured in the movie, can you imagine if Volkswagen had put up enough cash to feature Craig strolling from his plane to find a Beetle waiting on him? Priceless.

Come on, look at this car. It doesn't say "Bond" at all, heck it doesn't even say "Powers." The thing looks like the front end of a Dodge Neon welded onto the back end of a BMW, not the gadget-packed car of a superspy. Two of the Mondeo's new design features include: bold wheel lips and a rising belt line. This is a car we're talking about here? The only bold lips and belt lines I want to see in this film are on the Bond girls, not on what amounts to a commercial for a car. He could be riding a Segway from the airport to the hotel for all the audience is going to care. People are going to be counting down the seconds until the bullets start screaming across the screen, not thinking "Wow, I should pick up a Ford Mondeo so that I can also be like Bond."

Just check out the standard Bond-issue Aston Martin features, and keep in mind that these were from 1964's Goldfinger, they've probably at least added wifi access by now:

• Front firing Browning .303 calibre machine guns behind the front indicators
• Retractable blades in the tire spinners
• Rising bullet-proof rear screen
• Radio telephone
• Radar scanner and tracking screen
• Passenger ejector seat
• Oil slick spray from rear light cluster
• Caltrops from rear light cluster
• Smoke screen from exhaust pipes
• Revolving number plates - "BMT 216A" UK, "4711-EA-62" France, and "LU 6789" Switzerland
• Front and rear extending rams
• Gun cabinet under driver's seat
• Bullet-proof windshield and rear windscreen

Now that's a car. Not to be left out, the Mondeo apparently has ability to charge you for an extra day if you don't return it to the rental counter by 5 o'clock.

If James Bond likes his martinis shaken, not stirred, then how do you suppose he prefers his full frontal nude scenes? Oh, that's right, for all you ladies at home wondering exactly how much Bond you'd actually be getting should you have a chance to shag the secret spy, all you may have to do is go watch Casino Royale.

According to Contact Music, Daniel Craig has assured his movie bosses that he has no problem taking it all off in front of the camera...and then turning around in an effort to piss off every guy that chose Royale as their first date flick. Craig explains, "I have told bosses I'm prepared to do a full frontal scene. I'm not shy and Bond wouldn't be shy about it either." Although he has a point, should audiences really see that much of Bond? Would it somehow taint the mysterious man we've all grown to love over the years? Not sure, but I will go to the theater armed with an assortment of "Nah, that's not his real one - they CGI most of it" explanations.

In other Bond news, a few new set pictures have surfaced showing Daniel Craig and Caterina Murino stepping out of an Aston Martin. While Caterina seems to be dressed in a beautiful red gown, Bond has on a sweater and khakis. What's up Craig, where's the tux?